This is Renee’s sister in law, Tracie Loux. I found out today that Extreme Home Makeover is looking for a candidate for a makeover here in the state of MISSOURI!!!

As you know that my sister -in- law, Renee’ and her beautiful children lost their husband and daddy in 2009 just 2 days before Christmas. Renee and Derek worked together trumpeting the cause of the orphan. They not only spoke out in defense of the fatherless, they put actions to their words by bringing children into their own home.

Renee and Derek’s first son, Josiah was born with Spina Bifida and passed away at age 2 1/2. Josiah’s incredible life opened their eyes and ours to the precious gift of children with special needs. They went on to have 2 beautiful daughters Sophia and Michaela. Over the past 10 years, Derek and Renee adopted 8 children. Their 5 daughters, Teyolla, Keyolla, Telma, Leeann, and Sana are all adopted from the Marshall Islands . Through Derek and Renee’s loving parenting, much prayer, and devotion to their daughters, these precious beauties have walked through incredible healing and restoration. Their 3 precious boys (Sasha, Ethan, and Silas) were abandoned at birth in an orphanage in Ukraine. Sasha has Spina Bifida. Ethan and Silas both have Down syndrome. The boys were severely malnourished, emotionally neglected and were suffering on so many levels. Derek and Renee literally nursed Ethan, a 5 year old weighing 11 lbs, unable to walk or even crawl, back to life! As a family we witness this starving, sick little boy come back to life, a true miracle of God’s kindness and his parent’s loving commitment.

After, her husband’s death, my precious sister in law, not only walked through grief and suffering with her children in such a remarkable way, she also stood tall, determined to carry on the mission that she and Derek worked passionately for- defending orphans and standing for justice.

Renee currently serves as the director of the Orphan Justice Center in Kansas City, MO with the mission to RESCUE, ADOPT, and RESTORE! The goal of OJC is to raise awareness, equip families to adopt, and establish safe, restorative communities for orphans.

In addition on a personal level, Renee continues to walk heroically, bringing orphans into her home and calling them her own. Since Derek’s death, Renee has brought a beautiful 1 year old boy, Judah, into her home, has taken in a little blind girl, Joanna to assist her parents in getting her the care and education she needs to thrive, and has opened her home and offered to legally adopt a 30 year old, Dawn, an orphan herself, who is working on the streets of Ecuador caring for orphans.

Renee has been given 45 acres in Grandview, MO to help her walk out the vision she and Derek had to build a home with space enough to personally take in 30+ orphans. Their dream together was to take in children with special needs and provide them with a loving home where they could be restored and healed. Their dream was to have horticultural therapy, equine therapy, along with traditional therapies (physical, occupational and speech).

When I heard today that Extreme Home Makeover was looking for a deserving family in the state of Missouri, I couldn’t think of a more deserving family. This precious family: Renee, her mother Flo, and the 12 children currently in their home, share a 4 bedroom home that is bursting at the seams. They have exhausted every available space and have simply run out of room. Renee doesn’t know the word “No” when it comes to children in need. Their garage and family room have both been converted to extra sleeping space, and there is simply no room left. In addition, their current home has three floors and requires Renee to lift Sasha and his wheelchair from level to level so that he can be with the family.

When someone as rare and precious as my sister Renee desires to love and live her life in a away that to some may seem extreme, extravagant, or hard to even fathom, it seems just wrong to see something like MORE ROOM hold her back from LOVING LARGE!

If you would please help spread the word and nominate Renee Loux for this amazing opportunity to be considered for an Extreme Home Makeover. If you have been touched by this story, I would also encourage you to blog, post on FB or share in anyway possible.

DIRECTIONS:

Email nominations to CastingMissouri@gmail.com

Each nomination must include the names, ages of everyone in the house, a description of the major challenges within the home and a short description of the family story. (Feel free to copy and paste some of the information above if you need, but your own connection to Renee would be great to share as well!)

Here’s a list of their names and ages if you’d like to copy and paste, though I encourage you to write a personal description of this sweet family if you know them at all.

Renee-mother (49)

Flo- Renee’s mother (72)

Telma-Renee’s daughter, adopted from the Marshall Islands (19)

Teyolla- Renee’s daughter, adopted from the Marshall Islands (19)

Keyolla- Renee’s daughter, adopted from the Marshall Islands (19)

LeeAnn- Renee’s daughter, adopted from the Marshall Islands (16)

Sophia- Renee’s daughter (13)

Michaela- Renee’s daughter (10)

Sana- Renee’s daughter adopted from the Marshall Islands (9)

Sasha- Renee’s son with Spina Bifida adopted from Ukraine (8)

Ethan- Renee’s son with Down Syndrome adopted from Ukraine (7)

Silas- Renee’s son with Down Syndrome adopted from Ukraine (4)

Judah – Renee’ son adopted from the Marshall Islands (1)

Joanna- a blind girl under the legal guardianship of Renee (from the Marshall Islands) age 13